


Chasing Cars

by Madzie



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, F/M, Growth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-05-30 07:51:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6415162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madzie/pseuds/Madzie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's talking about a mile a minute, and Leo can barely comprehend the words she speaks. And it is far to early to be discussing such heavy matters. And it's all just too much.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-OR-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leo Valdez finding himself finally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> I would reallyyyyy appreciate anyone taking the time to telling me what you think :)

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”  
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

 

..***

 

As if a soaring comet lost in orbit, the spec pierces across the azure skyline, while a gust of wind lifts the figure upwards, ensuring the protection of the peculiar shrapnel. 

With the flurry of wind spirits twirling around his limp form, and the blazing heat of the morning sun searing into him, the boy rouses into awakening.

His chocolate orbs gloss over his surroundings, finding nothing but blue. From the light hues of the sky, to the dark depths of the ocean below.

Leo clenches his fists, only resulting in a firmer grasp of the metallic dragon head beneath him.

"Festus?" The teen mutters in question, a glazed expression yet melted over his features. "What happened….Where am I?"

The bronze machine gives a response of clicks and clacks, though before even attempting to make out his message, the teen collects some of his bearings, and is brought back to remembrance.

He had done it.

The sphere had worked.

With a miraculous twist of luck, the demigod had escaped the underworld, a feat that only a few of his predecessors could claim to have succeeded in achieving.

He had actually done it.

Staring downwards with eyes oozing of curiosity, Leo Experimentally lifts one of his palms from perching atop the machine. He raises his hand before his befuddled expression, beginning to fold each finger, assessing the sensation each movement presents. It appears as if he had been blessed with a soul fully intact.

Now having completely lost awareness of the wind lashing across his yet exhausted form, Leo permits himself a moment to think of the six demigods who had tethered him to the mortal world, 

Flashes of he and Jason lost in a round of basketball. The aroma of strawberry fields burning in the steaming summer heat. As Piper, with one of her signature feathers braided into her choppy main of chestnut, attempts to remain impartial. Though Leo catches an extra glint to her ever changing irises whenever the all too perfect son of Jupiter shot, and succeeded.

Days spent in the forges, with the frighteningly pretty Annabeth Chase. Her calculating stormy grays never detaching from the blueprints sprawled before them, the goal of finding her boyfriend never faltering for even a moment.

The fear and hesitance racking his wary form, with Frank, And Hazel crouched right besides him in the underground of the ever so pristine Rome. They being perhaps the two he respects most of all in this twisted world. From a girl who had sacrificed herself to prevent the revival of a wicked giant. To a boy who's life can literally burn out in a matter of seconds, but yet continues to fight and lead to protect the defenseless. And For a fleeting moment, Leo questions if it would have been a bad way to go if he could ever be considered as an equal to them. 

And finally To the welcoming grin, and shared laughter he had exchanged with one Percy Jackson. Only just beginning to understand the awing might lying beneath the tanned skin, and gleaming eyes of emeralds.

With a shake of the head, Leo rids himself of all the doubt, and fright threatening to burro into his very being.

They're still alive," he swears to himself. He may not have the same abilities as the ghost king, Nico Di Angelo, but he is eternally bound to the six demigods of the great quest. If anything had harmed anyone of them, he would know of it. They after all are his family, and not even the supreme earth-face herself could sever the bond the seven of them had cultivated throughout those few weeks aboard the Argo II. Weeks comprised of an endless stream of fear rattling all of their thoughts, and defending each other's lives every other hour--Leo would have known if any harm had come to his family.

Another round of clicking drags Leo from his revery.

Looking forward, he understands what his long time friend was attempting to communicate…They had arrived.

From far above, Leo could spot the dazzling white sand of the coast line, and the lush greens of the forests which spec the miniature island. 

As the dragon head begins it's quickening descent, Leo's heart thumps rapidly against his chest. 

Only a matter of moments. 

Only moments, until he lands.

Only moments, until he sees her again.

Only moments, until he could prove all her fears wrong.

Leo imagines himself landing upon the beautiful beach. He would stand proud and tall, a smirk displayed pridefully. And just like every other hero that had landed ashore her home, he would appear strong and valiant, and she would leap into his arms, as if they were in one of the sappy love novels that he would catch Piper occasionally enjoying.

Although, he is Leo Valdez, of course the fates intend on the precise opposite to transpire. 

He's so close. Leo can sense the excitement spiking through him…So much so, that he didn't catch the spark igniting in his finger tips, which continue to lye atop the dragon head. . And in a state of shock, , Festus loses himself in a incomprehensible fit of squeaks and clacks. 

Before the inventor could even begin to figure out what had occurred, they are soaring face first into the ground below. With eyes clenched tight, and a preyer to his father that it would be utterly cruel to allow him to go this far just to become a splat on the ground, Leo braces himself for the fall, as his projectile shoots a thousand miles per minute, ultimately skating to a halt.

As he rises, with shaking limbs, and an exhaustion which seems to be threaded into his very being, Leo thanks the blacksmith god.

Stretching his arms, Leo takes a double take of his surroundings, yet disbelieving to his plan actually coming into fruition without little splinters across the way. He is truly standing here, on the lip of the enchanted island. He can catch the familiar waft of stew being stirred, weaved with the fresh open air that Leo can recollect running through on on the ranch that had once belonged to his bisabuelo.

Though now it senses older somehow, an ancient sort of aura that has never been dared to be toyed with. This place appears to be the epitome of all that the world must have been at one point…And Leo finds it quite ironic that a place that the gods had conjured to act as a prison, in all actuality represents the qualities that they should portray most of all.

Before the half-blood could lose himself any further in his reveries, he catches a glint of golden, and then a billowing scarlet toga racing towards where he stands. And once he catches her etherial face, it feels as if his entirety has been replaced with a blob of jello.

She stops feet from where he lies. The only sound rippling through the air is the waves of the ocean clawing at his bare feet.

From a distance, Leo couldn't appreciate the intricacies of her. From the plumpness of her parted lips, to how the golden strands melted into her caramel ringlets effortlessly, assisting in off setting the warmth in her chestnut pools. Pools which seem to be dangerously on the edge of flooding over with the tears brimming their almond shape, causing Leo to wonder how it must feel to finally have someone keep their oath, after so long of heartache and betrayal…

And he finds himself cursing Percy Jackson yet again.

They stand there for another moment of silence, drinking one another in, and scorching to memory how it feels being within the other's company .

Eventually, Leo realizes that it would be up to him to speak if he didn't want to stand here for the next eon.

"Hey Sunshine," he croaks out, immediately resenting the way his voice rang through the air…weak from thirst and fatigue, but he shakes off his disgruntles. "Have you ever heard of déjà vu?"

Though, prior to the final word even being uttered from his inquiry , the ancient goddess pounces.

Her elegant arms fasten themselves around his neck, and her lips press against his as if he was the only thing tethering her to this world…And Leo presses back with an equal ferocity, wrapping his arms around her waist to press her closer, not allowing any space to part them for any longer than necessary. He needed to memorize her. Put into his mind the way she seemed to curve perfectly against him. The way the sent of lilies fill his nostrils when with her. The way he wished to never be severed from this moment.

He needed all of her.

 

Neither knows how long they had stood there, beneath the steaming heat, and watchful gaze of Festus, but then again, neither truly cares. In fact, they would have been content staying in that moment for all the eternities to come. But once the sun tucks into the horizon for the upcoming night, they both come to the silent consensus that it's perhaps time to exchange questions, and receive answers.

"you came back," she states in a tone that is yet unconvinced to his actually standing before her, and Leo once more curses each and every so called "hero" that had landed on these shores, and had effortlessly broken the heart of such an open and loving being. 

"I came back," he assures while smoothing his thumb across her cheek, as he idly wonders if she is more beautiful beneath the sun, or moonlight.

"But how?" She continues to question. Her voice is raw, and Leo is tempted to merely answer with a vow that he will never leave her again.

"It's a long story," is what he ends up saying.

"Do you have the time to tell it?" Her brows are raised, an unabashed vulnerability splayed across her features.

"Yeah, I have forever to tell you," he exhales.


	2. Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He is happy.
> 
> He really truly is.

 

***

 

It was a time of unadulterated elation, days strung together in an intermingling of chortles and intoxication, losing themselves in the experience of the frivolity of youth. A time composed of tender kisses pressed against exposed skin, and clandestine whispers exchanged beneath the twinkling gems embedded in a never ending velvet cloak.

They regale themselves with twinkling hopes of the future which rests finally within their reach. A future which is sure to come into fruition, where they stand hand in hand roaming the land never ventured, where they together weave their next steps, the Fates be damned.

And it is the single moment in time where Leo feels whole. The chip on his shoulder, ever reminding the young demigod of all his faults, having been dissipated. 

He feels worthy.

No longer does he yearn for the shared laughter of camaraderie to echo through the lonely forges of bunker nine. No longer does the ever reverberating sense of not being enough to interest others cloud his thoughts.

He is happy.

He really truly is.

So why is it that even in her alluring presence, where she would radiate of golden, from her gossamer scented tresses to her splendid peal of laughter, Leo yet continues to feel a familiar dull aching. An aching of incompletion that he had thought had been put to rest the moment he had landed atop that wooden table, which feels as if a lifetime ago. 

Though then again, time does pass differently in this enchanted land. Perhaps a lifetime had past, and he had been so selfishly entranced by the loveliness of her and this place, that he hadn't even noticed.

The thought sickens the boy. 

No way in Hades that he had kept his whereabouts from his friends for so long. It is simply impossible that he could have been so utterly self indulgent, and apathetic at once.

Though the young Latino's worries are put to a halt once he feels her plump lips pressing against his neck. And he is thrust back into the haze of ardency, which appears to continuously cling to this place.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading<3 Pleaseeeeee let me know what you thought. :)  
> Thank youuuuuuu


	3. Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He loves her.
> 
> He does.
> 
> He really truly does.

***

 

The brunette etches another line into the wall of the cave. 

Twenty-five.

Twenty five nights he had spent in this etherial land. Twenty-five nights he had been able to hold her. Kiss her. Twenty-five nights he had felt the most joy in his young existence.

But also, TwentyFive nights in which he had begun to unravel in ways never explored.

Twenty-five nights of him questioning each and very intangible fantasy he had ached to come true. And then comparing it to where he stands now.

Each and every time the reality of her strawberry cloaked lips, and incandescent aura has eclipsed all that had proceeded, but yet, the enthrallment of her and this place has begun to subdue…And he's sickened that he could think such a thing…Because she's still her. The epitome of what he had yearned for in his prehalf-blood existence. 

She is the girl he came back for, denying all the odds. She's the girl he gave up everything to be with, for all the time to come.

He loves her.

He does.

He really truly does.

Despite the fact that his vivid world of her and Ogygia is dimming with each passing morning. And negating that her kisses are slowly becoming less and less all encompassing. He yet continues to love her with all that he has…Even the portion of his heart being dedicated to the friends he had abandoned.

The friends that have begun clouding his thoughts more often than not, alongside the camp he had come to associate as home.

But no…

He loves her.

He does.

He really, truly does.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so so much for reading <3 Pleaseeeee let me know what you think about the plot :) :) And please let me know what you feel about the shorter chapters…  
> Thank you again :)  
> And I hope to hear from you soon :)


	4. Part IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Leo," the celestial goddess calls out in a breath, not willing to shatter the calm so effortlessly molding itself around them.
> 
> "Yeah?" The teen hums.
> 
> "Tell me about your family."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just real quick FYI, the I don't exactly mention Calypso by name on purpose, so we can kind of understand how little they truly know about each other in this narrative…But please let me know if it's a bother, or annoying or anything :S

***

 

Leo lies back atop the warm grasses of the vibrant meadow, as the golden shafts of sunlight from above pans across their calming forms. the day is one composed of a comforting familiarity and a tranquility which frolics freely throughout the hush. Not unlike the previous days which appear never changing in this otherworldly land.

His lea sure is evident from long legs crossed, to lanky arms folded loosely around her waist, as her slender fingers trace a design against his bare forearm.

"Leo," the celestial goddess calls out in a breath, not willing to shatter the calm so effortlessly molding itself around them.

"Yeah?" The teen hums.

"Tell me about your family."

He hikes his brows, obviously riddled in confusion. He had already disclosed to the enchantress of his mother, the fire, and the visits of the dirt queen herself, which had subsequently led him to this spot.

Though as quickly as the confusion clouded over him, understanding filtered through. Leo reminisces moments he had never uttered out loud, in fear of fracturing them in some sort of way, from the nights listening to his mother's low voice crooning him a beloved spanish lullaby, to his teachings in Morse code, and the few moments of bliss he had found whilst yet upon the Argo II.

Although if Leo was being completely honest with himself, it was the risk of exposing the memories out loud that truly stunted his sharing, because he knows that if he were to reveal them to the suffocating aura of this place, that he would alter them in some way or another. Whether it is replacing the words chirped by his mother, or forgetting a playful jibe he and the remainder of the seven had shared. Leo can not risk such an act to be committed. 

Misconstruing his confusion, the caramel haired goddess elaborates.

"The other half-bloods aboard the Argo II…your friends. You always mention them in passing, but I don't even know how you came to meet them," she pushes, nearly pleading for Leo to open himself to her, if even the slightest.

A tint flushes his dark skin.

The first words that push against his lips are, "Not much to say…They were my family when I thought I would never have one again. They saved my life more times than I can count…And I've saved theirs too…They were everything I had. And I regret too much, and miss them too much to never be able to see them ever again...It's nothing much at all."

But of course, he would never allow himself to even possibly puncture the bliss he has found with her, so rather he filters his response. 

"There's nothing much to say,. They were my friends." Is all he divulges.

She hikes one of her manicured brows.

"It doesn't seem like nothing," she presses with her lilting titter. "But you don't have to speak of them, if you don't wish too."

Leo evades her gaze, because in all actuality he would want nothing more than to tell her about how his best friend can fly. Or of all the magical tales that Piper had entertained him of her Cherokee ancestry. Or all of the millions upon millions of aspects he most respected and envied of the six people he cares for most in this twisted world…

But, he can't bring himself to do so…

Rather, he lifts himself upwards, gingerly parting himself from the vixen.

"I'm gonna go check on Festus," he announces before pressing a kiss to her temple and sauntering off."

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again so much for reading…I hope you kind of liked this chapter….Please tell me the truth on how you feel. I would truly love to know what you thought <3<3


	5. Part V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He wonders if she continues to think of him. 
> 
> The boy whom had captured her affections first.
> 
> The boy who had saved western civilization twice.
> 
> The boy who actually matched the gallant and striking mold that all her past suitors resembled.

***

 

The young blacksmith perches upon a slab of stone, acting as a makeshift bench, awaiting for her to finish up with her gardening of the day. The teen being able to avoid the act by claiming that he had always been more partial to grime beneath his nails, over dirt.

His gaze scans the wide expanse of the glittering garden. He had always been taken aback when catching the effervescent hues which tone the pedals dancing in the wind, and the iridescent shine which a few retain, from their lineage of being planted within enchanted soil. 

With the clear cyan skies, and the stunning array of various blossoms gleaming against the greens of tree tops and sod, Leo is absolutely positive that this field would put Persephone and all her twinkling gems of the underworld to shame.

The brunette's basking of the glorious alcove is put to a halt once he catches on a particular blossom. Leo recognizes the plant from originating within Calypso's imprisonment of Ogygia. Some sort of relative of the enchanting moon lace, the resemblance of the flora being evident from the similar prism like shimmer both retain from the peal of light skipping atop their blooming pedals, save for the fact they respond to contrasting sources. And the way both seem to absorb you into their entrancing presence. Unyielding in your attention, less their prestige may dwindle.

Leo recollects first witnessing Moon-laces when spotting them planted before the cabin of Poseidon.

And in an instance of thinking of the all powerful Demigod, Leo swallows himself into a void of insecurities. 

He wonders if she continues to think of him. 

The boy whom had captured her affections first.

The boy who had saved western civilization twice.

The boy who actually matched the gallant and striking mold that all her past suitors resembled.

And as quickly as he drudged into the sea of daft diffidence, Leo emerged. He reminds himself where he is, and what they share.

She loves him, and he loves her.

After all, how can he not?

She is the epitome of utter perfection, from the way she sashays into a room, demanding all the attention being focussed upon her with nothing more than her simple grace, to her effervescent timber synonymous with her chortles of mirth. 

The true question is how she could have ever reciprocated his sentiments. 

After all, he is the quintessential oddity, complete with aberrant lineaments, and the tendency of always being the one excluded from the crowd.

With a shake of the head, Leo scolds himself for so easily clawing open the past memories of seclusion, of which he has tried ever so forcefully to tape shut. 

He is here, with her.

She loves him, and he loves her.

But prior to his being able to reprimand himself any more forcefully, he catches a spec of light hopping atop the churning waves against the coastline. eventually skipping to a halt before his stationary form.

With a tug to the gut, Leo understands that if he doesn't shield himself quickly, he will culminate into nothing more than a pool of muck.

The half-blood is anything but surprised to the guest standing before him once he lifts his lids.

"Oy, boy there ya r." The booming voice of the burly man declares.

"Hi dad," Leo attempts to greet with a warming grin…Though he suspects that it resulted looking like a pained, and confused mess. Partly due to Leo never having spoken to his father under any terms besides distress, and partly do to the pang in his chest when remembering that his father is considered amongst the ugliest of gods. 

"Well stand up and offer your father a place to rest ay," the bearded Olympian chastises.

"Oh…Ah yeah," the young half-blood scrambles to his feet, though he wonders why a god should need to rest.

"So…." Leo mutters. "What's up….Are you still….You know…"

"Painfully splitting between my most concentrated and powerful forms, until one wins out, and demolishes one of my very beings?" Hephaestus substitutes.

"Ah…yeah…"

"No I'm not," the omnipotent being mumbles with his ever present scowl plastered to his deformed features. "In fact, things have begun to settle down sense your departure lad. That Percy Jackson has rarely caused Zoos to create any major storms."

Leo can feel the glare molding into his face. Just a moment ago he was cursing the ever astonishing son of Poseidon, but now Leo feels an irrational need to defend Percy Jackson as not being at fault for Zoos's shortcomings of a ruler..

But Leo merely swallows his frustrations, and debriefs his father's sudden visitation. 

"I've come to deliver you something," Hephaestus answers.

"Isn't that Hermes's job?" The teen quips.

"Ay, but this cargo is a bit too valuable for him," the ancient blacksmith clarifies as he thrusts out an obsidian box towards his son.

Examining the gift with eyes glinting of curiosity, Leo lifts the lid, finding a miniature disk within the package.

"What's this?"

"You are well aware to what that is lad," Hephaestus scolds.

"How did you…"

"I'm a god boy, I know everything," he waves off. "Besides, I keep an extra eye on mi lot."

Leo finds himself in a loss of words…He doesn't know whether to thank his father for granting him the final peace he needs to complete his return home, or feel unnerved to what Hephaestus may have seen while watching over him.

He does both.

"Now….I'm well aware that you may have some mixed thoughts over this gift," Hephaestus mumbles. "But just so you know, even the best inventions I've created have had their faults…And it's okay to disassemble and start anew."

Leo furrows his brows. Surely the sphere will work on their return, he's inspected it on a myriad of occasions.

Hephaestus merely gives a mighty cackle to the state of his son's befuddled expression. It is a laugh which Leo recognizes well, one that tells him the person knows far more than he leads on. And in an instantce he becomes frustrated.

Their stalemate is severed by the calling of his name by the goddess.

"I'll get on my way and let ya share the good news to the lady," Hephaestus announces as he rises. "Just think of my advice yeah?"

"What advice," Leo scoffs.

With a shake of the head, the god transfigures into a spec of compressed power, barely giving the half-blood a spare moment to turn away for protection.

And once the simmering sphere of heat dissipates, Leo catches her melodic voice calling for him once more.

His eyes stray downwards to the gift, knowing all too well that once the instrument within is used, he will begin his voyage back to his home.

The thought makes it so a sense of disconcertion reverberates throughout his frightened form..

With a mere flicker of the switch he will shatter all that he has found, and risk losing the very being who has made it so Leo no longer is revolted by his own existence.

And without a second thought, he excavates the patch of grass beneath him, tucking the powerful gift within the newly formed nook.

And with a guilty swallow of doubt, Leo descents the hill to where she is awaiting him, convinced that he has merely protected his merriment.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so soooooo much for reading!!! I'm sorry…I feel that this was my very worst chapter :S  
> But Pleaseeeeeeee let me know what you thought :)  
> I would loveeeee to hear from you!!


	6. Part VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So he isn't quite sure to when the dissolving begun.

***

 

Eventually, Leo begins to realize that everything is melting around him.

Not quickly in the least, or in sporadic intervals… But melting none the less.

For so long he stood here, in the perpetual bliss of this island. Lost in the delight of her, and enjoying the fluttering akin to a humming birds flapping wings whenever experiencing an impassioned moment with her.

So he isn't quite sure to when the dissolving begun.

One moment they were the depiction of the ever faultless match. Lost in one another's pleasureful presence and exchanging aimless chatter of whatever holds their interest for that particular hour with brilliant grins plastered on their respective faces.

But soon, Leo had become aware to the way they never spoke of anything holding true significance…Rather each had tentatively retracted from any and all substantive topics. Each terrified of how the other would judge them once the iridescent layers of heroism and beauty begins to peal.

With each time his voice quakes when accidentally mentioning a particular quirk of his mother's, or when her gaze avoids his face when discussing the millennia she had spent alone, the tension standing between them becomes all the more palpable.

Soon, Leo sequesters himself on the corner of the shore where Festus remains, finding solace in the familiar creaking of his wrench, and churning of the waves. 

And on her part, the caramel haired vixen has begun to spend more and more hours tending to her blossoms, and less and less time woven to his side.

And Leo thinks that the worst part is that neither seems to truly mind.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you sooooo much for reading!!  
> Pleaseeee let me know what you thought :)


	7. Part VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No longer does this island represent a haven which assists in staving off his worst of thoughts and memories.
> 
> And wasn't that the main purpose of his finding refuge here?

***

 

Bare chested, the blacksmith sits upon a dry patch of ground in the minuscule alcove he has come to associate as his only sanctuary of this place,  as he releases one of the new contraptions he  had created out of boredom. One which is garnished with the propeller accustomed to a helicopter, and drenched with more oil than even Leo's shirt had been. And as Leo watches the invention flying off, his chest aches with memories of soaring in the Argo II, and all the mayhem he and his friends had somehow survived.

With a sardonic grin, the teen glances upwards towards the folds of the enchanting midnight mantle, garnished in all its shimmering specs of radiance, and the gleaming sphere resting upon the focal point of the tapestry, drenching all of it's effulgence and luster. Though despite it's astonishing beauty, it is the first time that Leo becomes suffocated by its wide expanse. The folds of midnight have become a blanket far to tightly bound, and the iridescent starlights engraved into it's visage have become weapons which threaten to scorch his very being if he even dares to toy with the thought of  escape.

No longer does this island represent a haven which assists in staving off his worst of thoughts and memories.

And wasn't that the main purpose of his finding refuge here?

With a shake of the head, the demigod fumbles into the nook he had carved out into the grass, and finds the ebony box his father had presented him with only weeks prior.

Never before has the teen so utterly yearned to return to his home of strawberry fields, and capture the flag.

Leo supposes that he should be fretting over the dissolving mess he has found he and Calypso's relationship becoming. He should be trying all his might just to have her smile in that hopeful, lovestruck sort of way that she had when he had first returned. Though Leo is more than aware that in recent days recollections  of  his past life have clouded his thoughts  more than which would dictate merely fond memories. He yearns to return, and finds himself unable to create a rebuttal to stay.

Without a second thought, his yet shirtless form marches towards where she rests, both having had slowly resigned to the consensus to sleep alone in the past nights of silence.

"Calypso," he calls out as he steps into the room lit by the glimmering gems molded into the walls.

With a start, the beauty, only clad in a thin nightgown, turns to him, her tresses in the midst of being braided.

"Leo?…" She ponders out loud.

"It's done." He exclaims.

"What are you speaking of-"

"The sphere, it's done. We can go home."

it only takes another moment to pass before her almond orbs are emblazoned with realization  and a sort of unkempt excitement.

"Truly?" She cries in mirth.

Leo nods, unable to help the grin splitting across his sharp features, and it is the first time in weeks that his chest feels lightened, if even for a moment.

"Oh my gods," she nearly weeps. And in an instant, she has leaped into his awaiting arms. Her lips press against his with as much force as the first night of his return, but it holds so much more desperation and euphoria. 

And for a moment its so strong, that Leo mirrors her gayety, only just becoming painfully aware to his yet lacking a shirt.

But soon, she slips off her gown, and he nots his fingers into her loose curls.

And for a moment, everything freezes over for the last time. And Leo allows himself this minuscule moment of ecstasy 

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so so much for reading this<3<3  
> I really hope it's even a little better than the last couple chapters.  
> Pleaseeeeeeeee let me know what you think!!  
> I hope to hear from you soon :)<3


	8. Part VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're going to flourish so spectacularly that you won't even notice that you're not in Ogygia anymore."
> 
> Her lips curve into an alluring smile as the moonlight from above traces her doll like features romantically, and she squeezes the hand that is folded into his own. 
> 
> "I'll only be able to flourish with you by my side."

The following days are Saturated in a peculiar amalgamation of precarious hope penetrating the forlorned state he has lulled himself into, and a dreadful apprehension polluting his jubilance of finally discharging himself from this etherial land of shimmering oceans of blue, and scintillating shafts of sun which constantly drenches over it's exterior.

Despite Leo's longing to reconcile with his estranged companions, he yet curses himself for the thoughtless spur of action in which he had revealed to the goddess their capability of escape. Because now, no matter how forcefully he may try to halt it, their relationship will be thrown into situations which are as tumultuous as the humans whom impose them.

She will be exposed to a world of temptations and opportunities of which she has never even imagined. Ranging from finding a truly perfect suitor, to the ability to accomplish whatever she desires…And Leo cowers over with the realization that she can leave him in the dust, just as easily as she leaves Ogygia.

But rather than voicing his distress, just as so many times before, the young inventor loses himself in the flurry of preparing for their departure. From examining their return vessel for the umpteenth time, to determining which of his belongings is most valuable to pack away for their voyage. His reservations are kept securely within the confines of his mind.

Though, upon their final twilight before their escape, a splinter of hope pierces his doubt, and Leo thinks he may be able to disclose his inhibitions to her.

The caramel haired beauty appears distressed as she watches the waves lapping against the shore line, and Leo attempts to comfort her with a hand to hold, and ear to listen.

"It's nothing, truly." she insists. "I just am a bit nervous about what we are gearing up to do."

Leo's ears perk at the divulgence. 

"What about it scares you?" He inquires, yearning to hear that her thoughts are synonymous with his own.

"Leo, I haven't stepped foot upon the world you know in over a millennia," she begins to explain. "And from the murmuring I've caught by the few gods whom decide to visit me…It is not a place that I would particularly thrive in."

As her words pour out, it is as if Leo can sense his form deflating with the hope that had coursed through him for only a moment…Of course it is her preservation in a world she has never known that she is frightened over…Why should she fear the possibility of losing him once having already utilized the only worth he offers to her.

With a shake of the head, Leo pushes aside the resentment beginning to bubble within him.

"You don't have to worry about any of that," he declares to her.

"And why not?" The ancient goddess questions with a craned brow.

"Because, you're brilliant, and beautiful, and you're a goddess for Zoos's sake." Leo intones breathlessly. "You're going to flourish so spectacularly that you won't even notice that you're not in Ogygia anymore."

her lips curve into an alluring smile as the moonlight from above traces her doll like features romantically, and she squeezes the hand that is folded into his own. 

"I'll only be able to flourish with you by my side."

Leo evades his gaze, and refrains from speaking the incredulous words threatening to soar from his lips.

Rather, he allows himself to become lost in the soft touch of her body against his own, and as she presses closer, Leo fools himself into believing that they are sharing something permanent. Something that can stand for eons after this.

 

***

 

THe following morning, as he guides her onto the top of Festus, Leo questions the almond eyed vixen to why she has decided not to take with her any of her belongings from her once home.

"I wish not to cripple myself with the memories of my solitude," she answers him as if it were the most obvious thing. "Why would I wish to clog my hopes of the future, with my heartache of the past."

Her words makes it so Leo recollects the advice uttered by his father only weeks preceding this moment. " , 

"even the best inventions I've created have had their faults…And it's okay to disassemble and start anew."

As he roars to life the sphere which will transport them to their destination, and she affectionately pecks her plump lips against his own, Leo can sense his heart constricting. He finally comprehends to what his father's words allude to.

So with the island of imprisonment behind them, and nothing but the horizon composed of coral tuffs of cotton, and shafts of mandarin scraping the azure skyline,, before them, Leo accepts that the melting will only quicken in momentum…

And for the first time, he does not think he minds.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly have no idea what to think about this chapter :S Like I'm between hating it and annoyed of it… :S  
> Pleaseeeeee let me know what you think :S

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading,  
> I hope to hear from you soon<3


End file.
